The office Christmas party is synonymous with regrettable karaoke, snogging a co-worker or obtaining an embarrassing nickname that will last you your whole career. Luckily, this year, the chances to embarrass yourself are a lot lower thanks to our virtual reality.
Demand for Online Office Christmas Party
Being confined to our homes does not mean that the annual festivities are off the table. In fact, the vast majority of UK businesses are trying to keep their teams entertained and engaged over Christmas with online events. In a survey of corporate events professionals, events platform Hire Space found that 89% of UK businesses are seeking virtual entertainment this year. The office Christmas party is a huge industry with companies typically shelling out nearly £1BN for their staff.
Ongoing Trend
However, the office Christmas party is not the only event to become virtual. In fact it is revealed that a staggering 94% of businesses plan to run virtual events in the next 12 months. This could do wonders for morale, with many reports of loneliness when working from home. It could also allow employers to offer a more appealing set of employee benefits.
The Biggest Christmas Party
As the need for a virtual solution has grown, events companies have started offering increasingly sophisticated online experiences. Hire Space is expecting around 100,000 people to attend its “Big Top” virtual Christmas party experience this year. Guests navigate easily between an unlimited number of party rooms through a clickable party map, which means the event can be easily scaled to accommodate a team of five, or a staff of 10,000 across multiple time zones. The company has partnered with Pasta Evangelists and Pizza Pilgrims. Businesses can pick food and drinks packages that will be delivered to their employees’ homes as part of the experience.
Getting Creative
Just because we can’t go out this year, does not mean that the office Christmas party will be boring; far from it. Attendees start the night in a ‘taxi’, zooming through their city and learning about what’s in store for them. On arrival, guests have the option to visit a live jazz bar, sing karaoke, or chat to colleagues in the ‘smoking area’ or gender-neutral ‘bathroom’. The event brings together comedians, musicians, actors, DJs, cabaret acts, magicians and more. This is also a way to support workers facing reduced income this season.
